TOEFL Booster / Listen for why things are said
Lawrence J. Zwier / Special to The Daily Yomiuri
Consider these two sample questions, which are similar to some you might see on the Listening section of the TOEFL.
Sample 1
Why does the professor mention "engines" near the beginning of the lecture?
Sample 2
Why does the professor tell the students to "rethink that"?
We'll get some context for these questions in just a moment, but for now concentrate on the form of the samples. They both start with why. They both refer to the wording of what a lecturer says. on the surface, they seem to be the same type of question.
On a deeper level, though, they are quite different and actually belong to two different types--organization questions and function questions. The makers of the TOEFL intend these two types to target two different aspects of your listening ability. As the name suggests, an organization question exercises your ability to see how information is put together in the listening passage. A function question targets your understanding of the speaker's purposes or intentions.
Can you tell which sample above is organization-related and which is function-related? The following partial transcript of a lecture may help make it clear.
Professor: So let's move on today to the siege of Osaka Castle in 1615--actually it was two sieges, but never mind. And I want to zoom ahead to summer 1615 and examine how the whole process ended. I think most of you have seen illustrations of some army putting a city or a castle under siege. You all know what a siege is, right? Uh...yes?
Student: It's like when the city is closed off and the attackers won't let anyone in or out.
Professor: Right. A siege is both a tactic and a strategy. Tactically, well, the goal is to take a valuable piece of property from the defenders. Strategically, though, it is even more interesting. Unlike a battle, which may last a few hours or, at the most, a few days, a siege can drag on for many months. The defenders get progressively hungrier, thirstier, sicker, and maybe even more claustrophobic. It's demoralizing in a way few battles can be. You can feel like a hero as you march out into a fight. You feel a lot less like a hero when you cower in your castle waiting for something to happen.
But even for the attackers, there's a point where a siege just has to end. They can't camp outside the city or castle forever. Time can demoralize the attackers as well. Here's where the famous instruments called "siege engines" come into play--mostly battering rams, ladders and catapults. They're tools for ending a siege, for finally breaking through defenses. Now, I know you all think of cars and lawn mowers and things when you hear the word engines. Like, "My car is having engine trouble." But in the early days, it basically meant "clever device." The word is related to ingenuity, "cleverness." So if you think siege engines have motors, rethink that. Try thinking instead of something like Internet search engines--no motors there...
Which sample question is organization-related? Which one asks primarily about the arrangement of ideas? That would be Sample 1: Why does the professor mention "engines" near the beginning of the lecture? The answer options for this kind of question might be:
a. To introduce the siege of Osaka Castle
b. To illustrate how meanings of a word can change
c. To identify devices that helped end the siege
d. To explain why the siege of Osaka Castle was so short
The correct answer is "c," but more import!antly you should notice that each answer option deals with organization. Each one names a structural aspect of the lecture--either a real one or one invented to distract you--that the term search engine might be import!ant in.
Organization questions might also be stated in other formats, such as: "How is the information about X organized?" or "How does the professor explain Y?" It's a little clearer that these are organization questions.
A function question, such as Sample 2, has a different focus. Its answer options relate less to pieces of the lecture than to a speaker's reasons for saying something. Let's look again at Sample 2, with some answer options.
Sample 2
Why does the professor tell the students to "rethink that"?
a. To indicate that an answer is incorrect
b. To urge students to step outside their usual frame of mind
c. To warn students that a topic is more difficult than they believe
d. To pause for a moment of thought before resuming the lecture
The correct answer is "b." Can you feel the difference between the objectives of Sample 1 and Sample 2? Think "arrangement versus intentions."
Function questions often involve listening again to part of a passage. one reason for this is that function often depends not just on words but on tone of voice. The test-makers know that, to fully appreciate a target passage, you may have to hear it again. Here is the question from Sample 2 in a listen-again format. The material in brackets [ ] would not be in print but would be heard through your headphones.
Sample 2A
Listen again to part of the lecture. Then answer the question.
[Professor: So if you think siege engines have motors, rethink that. Try thinking instead of something like Internet search engines--no motors there...
Narrator: Why does the professor tell the students to "rethink that"?]
The answer options would appear on your screen, just as in the other format.
In one sense, it doesn't really matter whether you can distinguish between an organization question and a function question. Your job is to answer the question, not to analyze it. But in another way, it does matter. Chances are, your notes will treat organizational and functional information differently. You would probably look at the basic outline of your notes to answer the former. Your "attitude" or "stance" notes probably look very different, perhaps as little marginal boxes or bubbles.
Next month we will continue looking at the listening section of the TOEFL as we compare lecture-based and conversation-based questions.
Zwier teaches at Michigan State University and has written extensively about the TOEFL.
(Nov. 22, 2007)
Lawrence J. Zwier / Special to The Daily Yomiuri
Consider these two sample questions, which are similar to some you might see on the Listening section of the TOEFL.
Sample 1
Why does the professor mention "engines" near the beginning of the lecture?
Sample 2
Why does the professor tell the students to "rethink that"?
We'll get some context for these questions in just a moment, but for now concentrate on the form of the samples. They both start with why. They both refer to the wording of what a lecturer says. on the surface, they seem to be the same type of question.
On a deeper level, though, they are quite different and actually belong to two different types--organization questions and function questions. The makers of the TOEFL intend these two types to target two different aspects of your listening ability. As the name suggests, an organization question exercises your ability to see how information is put together in the listening passage. A function question targets your understanding of the speaker's purposes or intentions.
Can you tell which sample above is organization-related and which is function-related? The following partial transcript of a lecture may help make it clear.
Professor: So let's move on today to the siege of Osaka Castle in 1615--actually it was two sieges, but never mind. And I want to zoom ahead to summer 1615 and examine how the whole process ended. I think most of you have seen illustrations of some army putting a city or a castle under siege. You all know what a siege is, right? Uh...yes?
Student: It's like when the city is closed off and the attackers won't let anyone in or out.
Professor: Right. A siege is both a tactic and a strategy. Tactically, well, the goal is to take a valuable piece of property from the defenders. Strategically, though, it is even more interesting. Unlike a battle, which may last a few hours or, at the most, a few days, a siege can drag on for many months. The defenders get progressively hungrier, thirstier, sicker, and maybe even more claustrophobic. It's demoralizing in a way few battles can be. You can feel like a hero as you march out into a fight. You feel a lot less like a hero when you cower in your castle waiting for something to happen.
But even for the attackers, there's a point where a siege just has to end. They can't camp outside the city or castle forever. Time can demoralize the attackers as well. Here's where the famous instruments called "siege engines" come into play--mostly battering rams, ladders and catapults. They're tools for ending a siege, for finally breaking through defenses. Now, I know you all think of cars and lawn mowers and things when you hear the word engines. Like, "My car is having engine trouble." But in the early days, it basically meant "clever device." The word is related to ingenuity, "cleverness." So if you think siege engines have motors, rethink that. Try thinking instead of something like Internet search engines--no motors there...
Which sample question is organization-related? Which one asks primarily about the arrangement of ideas? That would be Sample 1: Why does the professor mention "engines" near the beginning of the lecture? The answer options for this kind of question might be:
a. To introduce the siege of Osaka Castle
b. To illustrate how meanings of a word can change
c. To identify devices that helped end the siege
d. To explain why the siege of Osaka Castle was so short
The correct answer is "c," but more import!antly you should notice that each answer option deals with organization. Each one names a structural aspect of the lecture--either a real one or one invented to distract you--that the term search engine might be import!ant in.
Organization questions might also be stated in other formats, such as: "How is the information about X organized?" or "How does the professor explain Y?" It's a little clearer that these are organization questions.
A function question, such as Sample 2, has a different focus. Its answer options relate less to pieces of the lecture than to a speaker's reasons for saying something. Let's look again at Sample 2, with some answer options.
Sample 2
Why does the professor tell the students to "rethink that"?
a. To indicate that an answer is incorrect
b. To urge students to step outside their usual frame of mind
c. To warn students that a topic is more difficult than they believe
d. To pause for a moment of thought before resuming the lecture
The correct answer is "b." Can you feel the difference between the objectives of Sample 1 and Sample 2? Think "arrangement versus intentions."
Function questions often involve listening again to part of a passage. one reason for this is that function often depends not just on words but on tone of voice. The test-makers know that, to fully appreciate a target passage, you may have to hear it again. Here is the question from Sample 2 in a listen-again format. The material in brackets [ ] would not be in print but would be heard through your headphones.
Sample 2A
Listen again to part of the lecture. Then answer the question.
[Professor: So if you think siege engines have motors, rethink that. Try thinking instead of something like Internet search engines--no motors there...
Narrator: Why does the professor tell the students to "rethink that"?]
The answer options would appear on your screen, just as in the other format.
In one sense, it doesn't really matter whether you can distinguish between an organization question and a function question. Your job is to answer the question, not to analyze it. But in another way, it does matter. Chances are, your notes will treat organizational and functional information differently. You would probably look at the basic outline of your notes to answer the former. Your "attitude" or "stance" notes probably look very different, perhaps as little marginal boxes or bubbles.
Next month we will continue looking at the listening section of the TOEFL as we compare lecture-based and conversation-based questions.
Zwier teaches at Michigan State University and has written extensively about the TOEFL.
(Nov. 22, 2007)